HEAD COACH JOHN HARBAUGH
Opening statement: "[It's] good to see everybody. I appreciate you [all] being here. I had a chance to dig deep into that game since we got back late last night, and I was meeting with all the coaches this afternoon. [I] just finished up with that. I've had a chance to even start on the [Cleveland] Browns [preparation], so a lot of work has been put in between the end of the game last night, traveling and then getting ready for next week. So, we've got a pretty good handle on what happened and a good handle on where we're [heading] going forward. We're excited about the opportunity to move on and play the [Cleveland] Browns and go find a way to play our best football on Sunday here at M&T [Bank Stadium] in the home opener. What questions do you have?"
When you're looking at the defense throughout the whole game, what do you think the biggest issue was? Because repeatedly not being able to slow down Josh Allen... (*Jamison Hensley)* "Yes, well that was the biggest issue. We understand Josh Allen; we [have] played him quite a few times. We had a little more success here at our place last year. The last two times there, not quite as much, but we had a plan, and we just didn't get it done. We weren't able to execute; we couldn't keep him [Josh Allen] in the pocket. That was a big part of the plan would be to keep him in the pocket. We weren't able to do that. That's probably the No. 1 disappointment for me. I think when you let him extend plays like that, he'll run for yards, but he'll also find receivers downfield, and they do a good job of getting open. It's just hard to extend that coverage long enough with his arm strength and accuracy on the move. So that's the No. 1 thing."
Is it primarily on the edge players to keep QB Josh Allen in the pocket, or is it more complicated than that? (*Childs Walker)* "It's more complicated. I wish it just was. He escaped inside. He gets you going one way, and maybe we overreact, and I do think there's a way – we have to get better at it, and we can get better at it. I do believe watching the tape and just really just working on one thing. You get into a game, [and] we haven't played a game yet. It's an opening game against a very good football team in a very hostile environment; there's a lot of emotions in that game there. You don't know exactly where yet because you haven't played a game yet with your guys, not a regular season game. There's a lot of things you learn. There's a lot of really good things that we learned about our team – a lot of things that I'm really happy about and excited about. And there's a lot of things that you learn, and it's like, 'Oh boy, we have to go to work on that.' I would say pass rush lanes – that's something that we've got to go to work on. It's not just four lanes. There's different patterns that we use, and we just weren't as good as we need to be at that."
It's just one game, but going back a couple years, some of the fourth-quarter leads that have evaporated, is there a rhyme or reason for it? Because it is happened an awful lot. (*Jerry Coleman)* "Yes, there is. I think that there are all of those scenarios, if you look back at all those games. Every game we've had, there's been a fourth quarter and there's been a scenario. There's games where we've been in the [Buffalo] Bills' shoes. There's been a number of games where we've come back from two scores down, and we've won. And how do you do that? How do you make that happen? There's been times where we've been two scores up, and we've won. We've gotten the first down [to close out the game]; we've done that. We've been one-core down and we've popped a run, gone down and kicked the field goal, whether it's in overtime or at the end of the game, or we've gotten a stop that we had to get. Maybe part of it's the fact that we've been ahead a lot. We've won a lot of games, and we've had a lot of two-score leads. We've kept a lot of those, but I think we've lost six of them, if I'm not mistaken. That's too many. I don't care how many two-score leads you have. I do believe that we need to be really thoughtful of how we decide that we're going to approach those situations going forward. Let's give it some thought. Let's give some thought to our play-calling. Let's give some thought to our defensive play-calling. Let's give some thought to our mindset like how we're going to talk to one another. We're two scores up. We're trying to keep a lead against Josh Allen or any of these great quarterbacks in this league. What's our mindset on defense? How are we going to approach this? How are we going to talk to one another on the sideline to try to find a way to get the win? It becomes kind of a situation, a game scenario, that we need to be really intentional about going forward."
I know you were asked about whether or not to go forward on fourth-and-3, but I wanted to get your thoughts. What do you think about the play call sequence leading up to that? And to be more specific, RB Derrick Henry runs on the first down, wasn't a big gain, but he comes off the field there and maybe not putting the ball in the QB Lamar Jackson's hands for the designed run because every designed run you had... (*Luke Jones)* "Well, it was a designed run. The play to Zay [Flowers] was a designed run – that's a read-option play. You've seen Lamar [Jackson] keep that going forward before. So, in fairness, it was a designed run, and that's exactly right. That's a play. We took Derrick [Henry] off the field because that's a Zay- and Justice [Hill]-type of play that we had designed for that. Derrick doesn't really run those plays as much, so that's why he was off the field. It's probably not bad to give him a blow, either, at some point in time – he's going to be back out there again; you're hopeful. Or you can throw it. Now, do we want to run some kind of a 'swap boot,' some kind of a 'naked boot,' a pin, some kind of a pin play and get Lamar more outside the pocket? That's definitely going through our mind. That's on the call sheet; a drop-back pass, you can run a drop-back pass, you might get [Cover] Zero [coverage] and have some kind of a Zero check and try to beat them with a crossing route or something. Those are all the types of things that are on the call sheet. You make a call, and you want it to work, and when it doesn't work, it's always the other thing – sometimes you drop-back pass, and it doesn't work. It's like just like, 'Just give it to Derrick, or just do a quarterback designed run. Why couldn't you run it or throw it there [and] be more aggressive? How about a boot?' These are all the questions that we're asking ourselves this morning that you just have to go to the next week, try to do better the next week and hope you dial up the right play and execute it really well. Hopefully you get the right defense, or you check for the right call."
When you are in those situations and you have a two-possession lead in the second half, I just want to know, what is your philosophy in those moments? What is your philosophy when you're up 15 in the fourth quarter? Is it protect the ball or still be aggressive? What is your message to the coaches at this point in the game? (Cordell Woodland) "My philosophy, always, on offense is that the best way to burn the clock is to get first downs. That's the best way to burn time. So, you want to manage the clock, and you want to be smart about that. You don't want to be snapping the ball with 20 seconds on the play clock, and you do want to run as much time off between places as you can whenever the clock is running. That's just good clock management. But you also don't want to do it sometimes in such a way [that] it takes away your momentum or your ability to actually get the first down. Once you start running the play clock down under five seconds, then the defense can tee off on you. They get a [good] 'get off,' too, because they can see the clock, and they can see [that] you have to snap it on the next hut. That's the two-fold part of it there. I lean towards – sometimes we'll give up a little bit of time, [so] let's have a play dialed up where we can have the best chance to get the first down. Because when you get the first down, like we did on the first-and-10 play, when you get the first downs, that's when you can burn the most time. That's how you win the game."
When you reviewed the film, both offensively and defensively, down the stretch ... When there's a blown lead, people always want to say, "Well, things got too conservative." When you reviewed the plays offensively and defensively, do you think you guys were aggressive enough down the stretch? (Jeff Zrebiec) "[Both] offensively and defensively, generally speaking, we tried to be as aggressive as we could be. Did we call the right plays? Well, in hindsight, no, [because] they didn't work. And I'm not just saying that to blow it off. Maybe we could have had some sort of a naked boot, I would've liked, maybe, if we'd have done that – hindsight being 20/20. I'm not sure I want a drop-back pass against [Cover] Zero right there, necessarily, but it's not to say we couldn't have popped it, because our guys are good man [-coverage] route runners. Maybe we'd get the ball off, and we get a catch-and-run, but that ball can get batted down, too. So that's one that you say, 'Would that have been a little more aggressive? That would've been,' but the ball gets batted down there, and it's like, 'Oh, why don't you just give it to Derrick [Henry] or just put it in Lamar [Jackson]'s hands and let him run it.' So, I think that's the catch-22 of the whole conversation. Defensively? Well, we tried everything. We tried everything. We were playing, man [coverage], we were playing zone [coverage], we were blitzing, we were coming off the edge, we were showing and dropping out of there. So, we just didn't really get them stopped in the last two drives at all. And you know the plays that happened, so we didn't execute a couple times. We let them sneak out of there with a running back sneak play that should have been covered. We have the means to cover that in that defensive call. The sideline play at the end of the half, that should be covered. That's supposed to be defended there at that depth right there, that's the way the defense is built. I think that's part of what I was saying before. Early in the season, you do find some things out. Especially when you're playing a really good offense, you get exposed a little bit. We learned where we have to get better, too."
Did QB Lamar Jackson's cramping affect the play calling early in that quarter or did something different lead you to make those calls? (Noah Trister) "No, that was more towards the end. It didn't come up earlier. It wasn't something I'd hear about, not until the end."
You mentioned wanting to be intentional in just the little details, like the opening kickoff that the Bills returned, ILB Trenton Simpson trying to down that ball at the 1-yard line, the punt kind of sliding into the end zone, the missed extra point attempt and some other things. How disappointed were you in those little details that kind of add up to bigger things? (Brian Wacker) "No doubt. I promise you that when the Bills look at the tape, there are a bunch of little detail [issues for them], too. And [as a] matter of fact, [Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott] told me that after the game. There are a bunch of things that turn up, but when you lose the game, that's when you start adding them up where it could have made the difference. We coach that inside the 5-yard line, you stay on your feet; you never leave your feet. That's something that's been coached for a long time around here, but in that moment, we didn't have the wherewithal to think to do it. We all have to just learn from that. You just have to learn from those things, otherwise it's a wasted opportunity."
On that fourth-and-3 call, is there a conversation between you and the guys in the booth about what the modeling and the numbers might show about your win probability of, here's what we can do if we go for it, and here's what we can do if we punt it? (Jonas Shaffer) "Yes, you don't know exactly – because that was a long gain – so you don't know exactly what yard line you ... So, it has to be quick. The win probability – I'm going to say it might've been maybe two percent or one percent, something like that, going for it. You have to make the decision very quickly, and you have to say, 'Hey, do we have a call that we really like? Do we have a call we love here?' Because you have to send the punt team out, or you're going to have a delay of game. Or you have to send your offense out or you're not going to get the play off. It's just that fast. And Lamar [Jackson] was coming off the field at that point, and I could see something wasn't quite right, and so you have to get your punt team out there. That was really ... It's a fast sequence of events in that moment. But then again, too, I'm not shying away from putting our defense out there. If you get stopped on fourth-and-3, did you think about punting the ball and putting your defense out there and giving them a chance to win the game? That would've been the next conversation, because they'd have been in field-goal range already. I trust our defense, and I'm going to trust our defense this year in a lot of big situations. Our defense is going to be really, really good. And I know there's doubt about that right now probably, but I guarantee you our defense is going to play really good football this year."
Thinking back to last season when you went for it on fourth down in the game against the L.A. Chargers – and I know the scenarios are not exactly the same, different time of game, all of that – how do you balance when to be aggressive, and do you feel like in hindsight, do you feel like you're aggressive enough? (Brian Wacker) "Well, the balance is, do I really think we have a really good chance to get [a first down]? If we get [a first down], we win the game. If we don't get it, they're in field goal range. So, I think, as I just explained, all those things that kind of went down in that sequence, you can understand where it's like, 'What are our chances of getting that right here?' Lamar [Jackson] is coming off the field, and something is not right. It's fourth-and-3. Do we have a really good call? The time clock is ticking down, so do we want to call a timeout and burn that timeout? Or, do we want to have that timeout? Maybe you burn the timeout right there. In that moment, it was fourth-and-3, we put our defense out there [and] think we can get a stop and get a good punt to pin them down [in their territory]. Do we love the punt [we had]? [We] don't love it. So, all the things that happen after that are just things that happen. You've got to do the best you can in a very short period of time. So no, I don't think you could sit there and say, 'Well, I should've been more aggressive.' I don't think you could definitively say that's the right thing, either. You can't really say that for sure, because you could make that choice and could easily be having the conversation the other way here. That's just the way it works."
If your gut told you that you have to go for the fourth-down conversion, would you have had to call a timeout? (Childs Walker) "Yes, we would've definitely have to have called a timeout to get the play up and do it. We would've definitely had to, and I'm not saying we couldn't have done that. We could have done that, but in that moment, it didn't seem like the right thing."
Why do you think the Bills were so successful against this defense that has been updated? (Bo Smolka) "Well, it was in the fourth quarter mostly. Most of the yards were in the fourth quarter. So, you're talking about just what we were talking about in fourth quarter. Yes, I don't think we played some coverages great, and [Josh Allen] had too much time, and he had too much opportunity to extend plays. There's those two things. A couple of times, we have a two-deep coverage, and we don't play it great, and they have a whole shot on the sideline. We get a man route, and it runs away from us. Or we're too soft, and we're supposed to be more aggressive in man coverage out there on the edge, and we're five, seven [or] eight yards off the receiver, and we give an easy completion on the sideline. Just play the defense out the way it should have been played. I think [that] we've got to do that, and that's just fundamental. And all of our guys take responsibility for that, and that's what happened in the fourth quarter. And then, [Josh Allen] extends plays, starts running, and he makes a play downfield. That's what happened."
What went into the decision to scratch RB Keaton Mitchell? (*Jeff Zrebiec)* "[It was] numbers. You just can't get everybody up [on the gameday roster]. You've got to make a decision about who's going to be up and who's going to be down, and the number of snaps you can get Keaton [Mitchell] in on offense are pretty limited. You're going to take Derrick [Henry] off the field, and you [would have to] take Justice [Hill] off the field to do it, and those are all going to be designer plays. That's what Keaton does right now – he runs kind of the designer plays. So, the defense is going to be like, 'What's he out here for?' on the four or five plays that he's out there. It's going to be a specific play that they kind of have their antennas up for. You've got to balance it out. And, in special teams, he does OK in special teams, but he'll tell you he needs to get better in that area to justify the spot. Otherwise, you're going light in a couple other areas."
Have you heard from the league regarding Lamar Jackson interaction with the fan, and what's your take on that? (Bo Smolka) "I have not heard from the league. My take on it is – and all I know is what I've read afterwards – is Lamar [Jackson] is down there celebrating a touchdown with his teammates just like you're supposed to do. We talk about celebrations; we want our guys to celebrate with one another. That's the whole idea. I guess I didn't know that you're not allowed to go close to the stands to do that without being attacked by a fan. If you score a touchdown, you probably shouldn't have a frozen water bottle thrown at you, either. So, these are the types of things that I'm sure the NFL is going to address and deal with. It's unfortunate that [he] should even be in that situation. I don't know how any of us would respond in that moment. I think it'd be something [where] we'd probably be thinking about protecting ourselves. I do think that. I just think we have to understand that. We can all say, 'Hey, I'd like to handle it a little better,' but that's a surprise when that happens, I think, in that moment. [It] probably [is] for anybody."
Back to what you were saying about the secondary, in terms of if guys were supposed to be a little more physical and man coverage and weren't in terms of where they were lining up, was that more of a communication issue, or are they just not doing it? (Cordell Woodland) "We played a lot of great plays, too. We had a lot of really well-played plays, too, so it's just [about] consistent execution and the ability to continue to execute consistently. It's [about] who you're going against and all those different kinds of things. It's a long journey. You pass judgment on the game. That's what we do. We go back; we grade it; we look at it; we look at each play exactly for what it stands for. We'll study it with the guys tomorrow, and we'll learn from it, and we'll understand that we've got to carry our lessons into the next game. That's what you do. That's what you do in football, and that's what you do probably in any after action for anything, and we'll do that. So, that's why you're willing to say, 'Hey, you know what? We can do that better. We have to do that better.' Then, the other thing is, to your point, it's like, 'Why did it happen?' There's no general [reason] why it happened. Communication? Yes, there's a couple of plays [where] it might be communication. Maybe it's communication in the meeting room. We didn't quite make it clear enough, or maybe it got confused with some other defense that we're running. Could it have been confusion with another call that he's tying together in his mind? As a coach, you look at all those little aspects of it to try to get to the point where there's a shared understanding, and the guys have a really good vision of what you're doing, and we have that. We have a lot of really good things going. It's just the start of the season, so we'll keep chasing that. Like I said last night, that's how you become the team that you're going to be over the course of the season."
How do you think TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden handled the fullback role? I think that was his first NFL game, and how is FB Patrick Ricard progressing? (Luke Jones) "Patrick [Ricard] is doing well. He should be out there practicing a little bit this week, potentially, and we'll see how it goes. Then, I thought Zaire [Mitchell-Paden] did a really good job. I thought he was really good. He was explosive and physical. He really brought it up in there and unloaded on some blocks and did a nice job."
You guys trusted ILB Teddye Buchanan with some significant snaps out there. What led to that decision? (Giana Han) "Between those two guys [Teddye Buchanan and Trenton Simpson], there was about between 55 and 60 snaps. I think they were split pretty evenly. Teddye might've had four more snaps or something like that. That probably was the plan going in, in that range. You never say one guy's going to play a little more. Just the way it shook out, we were splitting snaps, and that seems appropriate right now. We'll just kind of see how it goes. I thought they both played solid."
K Tyler Loop said he was not happy with his process on the missed extra point attempt. On the other hand, he did hit the two long field goals after you guys got backed up. Did you see the day as a net positive for him, or what was your takeaway on what he did yesterday? (Childs Walker) "I thought [Tyler Loop] made some great field goals, and he missed an extra point. He pushed it, and it hurt us. I'm really happy about the other kicks, the field goals [and] extra points. I'm really disappointed in the extra point that he missed. I liked the kicks that he was putting on the ground in the kickoffs, and I really didn't like the one that he came up short on. Just kick the kick, really. To put a general grade on it, I don't know. Does it matter? As a kicker – especially when you don't win the game – you want to be net. You want to get everything, every positive you can. I know that's how he feels about it, so I'll go with him on that. Let's make them all, and let's kick them all perfectly on the kickoffs."
Speaking of process, just as a clarification from last night, would you like to see QB Lamar Jackson take it down to the two-minute warning at the 2:03 mark instead of snapping it? (Brian Wacker) "No, that was our plan if we got the play we wanted. We had a five-yard gain on that one."
But, you didn't want to take it down and run more clock? I believe you could have taken it to the two-minute warning. (Brian Wacker) "The idea there is because you want to get a good play, too, and sometimes you take it down there – and the defense thinks you're going to take it down there – and they give you a look that you really want, that you can run at. It might be a little soft look to run [the ball] at that you might not get otherwise. Sometimes, if you're trying to save time, it's a free run, because you know the clock's going to stop afterwards. But in that case, if we hadn't gotten the look that we wanted, we would've just taken it down [to the two-minute warning], but since we got the look we wanted, we ran it, and I think we picked up five yards on that, which was a good gain. That was our thinking on it. I know the idea [is you can] run more time off [so] they don't get the ball back, but you don't know how fast you're going to score. But, at that point, that comes back to the aggressive category. Do you want to be less aggressive and run the time off, or do you want to be more aggressive and try to get some yards there and try to get in the end zone? We're trying to score a touchdown there is what we're trying to do. It didn't quite work out that way, I don't think. We had some bad plays after that, but that was the idea."
Did you say anything to S Kyle Hamilton about that lateral attempt after the two-point conversion? (Jerry Coleman) "I did."
I guess it could have been a one-point safety? (Jerry Coleman) "I just questioned whether [Kyle Hamilton] actually graduated from Notre Dame or not." (laughter) "That's what I questioned him on. I thought that was one of the most foolish things I've ever seen. He agreed, and it should never happen again."
